New ways to counter the rampant online gaming industry were introduced November 3 by Hanoi’s Information and Communication Department.
In addition to strengthening supervision on Internet cafes and service providers, the department also proposed following some other countries to gradually restrict the permission for Internet shops, making this service available only at public places such as entertainment centres, cultural houses, supermarkets, etc.
Following the same regulation being applied in the central Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province, Hanoi’s authorities also proposed forbidding students from playing online game during office hours. Internet shops must get a business registration licence instead of a registration certificate, which is issued by the chairman of district.
Addressing the conference, Dao Thanh Hai from the Hanoi Police Department suggested stopping permission for new Internet business licensing for the time being.
According to the director of Hanoi’s Information and Communication Department, Pham Quoc Ban, they will work with some members of the government’s board for drafting the new decree on Internet management to consult their idea on these proposals.
In a statistic from Hanoi’s Information and Communication Department, as of September 30, the city has 2,244 Internet shops, 485 of which have been banned for being situated within 200 metres of schools.
An estimated 20% of Internet shops are remaining open past 11pm despite crackdowns from authorities.
